Aeroplane



I. SEPNISWICZ.

AEHDPLANE. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 5. I9I8,

1,322,632. Patented Nov. 25, 1919.

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JOZEF SEPNISWICZ, OF NEWARK, NEW' JERSEY.

AEROPLANE.

Application filed August 5, 1918.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOZEF SnrNiswioza citizen of Poland, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and .State of New J ersey, have invented certain new and-useful Improvements in Aeroplanes, of which the following is a speciication.

This invention relates to aeronautics, and more especially to propelled flying machines; and the object of the same is to greatly simplify and improve a machine of thistype without losing sight of the possibilities of those now in use.

Primarily, the invention consists of employing al latlifting plane of deltoid shape moving along its major axis with its sharpest'portion forward. Y

The propelling means here shown and described comprises a pair of engines and propellers, one under each end of the major axis.

Another feature of the invention is a second plane approximating the shape of the first and subjacent thereto.

Another feature of the invention lies in fastening the planes in strict parallelism with each other, and propelling them through the air with their front ends or points higher than their rear ends, so that their bodies incline downwardly and rearwardly. The peculiar shape of the lifting plane, and possibly also theshape of the other plane, avoids the necessity Vfor lateral wings, either fixed or movable.

Anotherfeature of the invention is the flexibility of the front end of the lifting plane, whereby it maybe adjusted manually to cause the machine .toy ascend or d escend. This avoids the necessity for a tail. Other features and details are brought out in the following specification and claim, and reference is made to the drawings where- Figure 1 is a plan Vview of the lifting plane.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation ofthis machine complete.

Specification of Letters Patent.

rammed Nov. 25, isis.

Serial N0. 248,359.

' areas, but theirbases are coincident. Thev ligurev resulting is a kite-shaped trapeziuni or more specifically a symmetrical trapezium, defined by one authority (Funk & Iagna'lls Dictionary, 1917 as a deltoid and so called f hereinafter; and in the use of a supporting or lifting plane of this shape, I consider it desirable if not absolutely essential that the sharpest point shall move forward. The plane as a whole is designated in the drawings by the numeral l, its forward point is 2,' its rearward point is 3, its major axis d connects these points and is coincident with the line of travel as indicated by the numeral 5 in Fig. l, and its minor axis 6 is transverse to themajor axis and disposed substantially three-quarters ofthe distance from the front or forward point 2 back to the rearward point 3. Therefore the greatest width of the plane is to the rear of its longitudinal center; and while I do not wish to be limited at all in this respect, Iwould suggest that the width should be about half its length. The structure of the plane itself is inimaterial. Preferably it will be composed of suitable fabric stretched flat in a single" plane upon a frame of light but strong structure and with appropriate bars and braces not. necessary to elaborate. At about oneliird of the distance from the front 2 to the rear 3, a' frame bar 7 is shown in dotted lines in Fig.` l, and the front end of the major or larger portion of the plane, forward of this bar and indicated broadly by the numeral S, may Hex vvertically as shown by the dottedA lines in Fig. 2. Suitable mechanism prefer-V ably is employed forraising and lowering this front end so as to carry it strictly out of the plane of the remainder of the structure, f whereby theaviator may cause his machineto ascend or descend at will.. Y The second plane, herein'called subjacent plane, is yindicated broadly bythe numeral l1. Its shape is shown in Fig. 3 as being approximately that of the upper or lifting plane, except that it does not extend the aviator is `in place.

kloeneathfthe flexible tip 8,V and'it is herein illustrated as disposed beneath said lifting plane and entirely parallel therewith. 'It' -both planes are .eanted upward at their front., ends so that they incline downward and rearward to 'a Vstrictly horizontal line. rIhis inclination of the planes is permanent. ItV exists when the machine rests upon level ground, and it is an inclination which is nicely calculated to be such that when, the

ymachine is progressing forward ataverage speed it will be Vsustained in` ahorizontal path. I may also provide a single forward v V floatl andtwo rearward or lateral floats 16 t0 sustain the machine in case it should drop upon the water. I prefer to employ a lfront engine and its propeller l? anda rear engine and its propeller 18, these rotating simultaneously and in opposite directions, but the blades ofthe propellers are pitched so that they worlr in conjunctionwith each other. rIhe weight of these machines should b e disposed forward and rearwardof the longitudinal center ofthe sustaining plane, lso that ordinarily 'the ina-v chine will not drop .down at either end when His seat should be midway between the machines, but I have not illustrated the seat 'or other details.

While itis true that what I may 'believe 'as to the efficacy of a lifting plane ofthe shape shown and described is mostly theoretic, certain propositions are more or less self-evident. A' plane which comes to a point at the front', rather than one havingY 'Y aV straight and long front edge, will cut Athe air with greater ease.

A plane whose general area lies fore and aft or along the line of progress rather than transverse there' to will possess greater stability longitudi-- nally and less stability transversely: the former I take advantage of, and the latter I guard against by causing the edges of the main or forward portion ofthe plane to diverge from its point 2 to the rear to the extremities of the minor axis 6, and then converge quickly to the rearward point 3. An air craft plane which has no lateral Y wing tips, rigid or flexible, is consideredV liable to tiltzr'this I guard against by disposing the weight of thev engines and they aviator along and beneath the major axis of the lifting plane, so that when tilting does occur its weightis'swung aside and its tendency to return to the lower point overcomes the tilting. A plane which is long along the lineof movement rather than wide across it may readily be employed as a hori Zontal rudder by rendering a portion of itk flexible; as the widest-andrearward portion ofmy .main plane is used for sustaining the machine,fI render the front end flexible and carry this flexibility back to `point where I find it sufficient tocause the rise and fall of the machine. 1lWhatever 'advantages arise from the use of a deltoid upper plane, may result also from the` use of a lower plane 11 Vof approximately the same shape and I will here say that I do not wish'to Ibe confined to the use of a plurality of planes, nor to the use of two planes only.`

The foregoing description and the drawings, have reference to what may be considered the preferred, or approved form of niy invention. It is to be understood that I may make such changes inl construction and arrangeinentfand combination of parts, materials, dimensions, et cetera, as may prove expedient and fall within the scope of the appended claim. y f

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claimk as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In an aeroplane of the character described, the combinationfof an upper plane which-is d'eltoidal in shape withy its sharpest point forward, said plane having ja transverse frame bar in rear of the sharp point to allow this point to be flexed, a subjacent plane spaced below said upper plane and being substantially Vsimilar in shape thereto, uprights connecting the planes together, a

motor and propeller mounted upon the sub-` jacent plane in line with the major axis thereof and contiguous to its forward and rear points, whereby the area of the lower plane contiguous to the points extending in alinement with thev minor axis thereof will ybe unobstructed, landing 'wheels having brackets of different lengths connected to the lower plane, thus causing both planes to be held in inclined position with respect to the horizontal, whereby when the motors are started, the aeroplane willbe lifted without the flexing of said first mentioned point,

'while the deltoidallshape of said planes will reduce air resistance thereagainst and will also act as a stabilizer for holding the plane from tilting sidewise, as and for the purposes set forth.-

In testimony Vwhereof I Vax'my signature in presence of two witnesses.

. JOZEF SEPNISWICZ.

Witnesses:

LEON Szrovzcx,

C. M. GERMANNE. 

